Use this linkto see the structure of governance to keep track of committees you are reading about. You may also find this helpful for understanding governance-speak.

February 20, 2014

OUR SENATE TURNS 50!

The first Senate constitution was approved in Spring of 1964, so this Spring marks the 50th year of formal faculty governance at SSU. Watch for celebration events this year!

Past Chairs of the Faculty at the Emeritus Dinner in October

What? You missed the Faculty Retreat?

On January 9th, the annual Faculty Retreat was held and the topic was Developing the Whole Professional in the 21st Century. There were dynamic concurrent and on-going sessions. We got great feedback on this one. Did you miss it? All the resources from the Retreat are posted on the Senate website!

Chair Purser opening the Faculty Retreat

What's Hot in Governance

TIME TO VOTE! In your email are the directions for voting! Voting ends on February 26th at 5:00pm.

The Senate had a Budget Primer presentation by Vice President Furukawa-Schlereth on November 21st. His powerpoint is posted to the Senate' Budget documents page. The Senate will hear a report on the campus debt on February 20th and a report on the Foundation and Endowment on March 6th. All faculty are welcome to attend. Note below that Senate meeting has moved to the Student Center.

Electronic SETEs

The first round of the campus-wide electronic SETE was completed this fall. Overall, the implementation went quite well and a report on response rates will be coming to the Senate early in the semester. The Faculty Affairs and Standards Committee will be working on policy this spring to guide the storage, access, and use of the data the campus will be generating each semester. If you have questions about the electronic SETE, please contact your School FSAC representative, or share your thoughts with FSAC using the SETE forum page at http://www.sonoma.edu/senate/committees/FSACSETEAY13_14.html. In addition to the implementation of the electronic SETE, you can also add your thoughts on the current campus SETE questions and policy issues regarding use and access to the data.

Senate moves to Student Center for meetings

The Academic Senate meetings are now taking place in the Ballroom room B on the third floor of the new Student Center. Anyone is welcome to attend our meetings. All the dates are posted here.

First Senate Meeting in the Ballroom of the Student Center

Policies and Outcomes Important to Faculty

Structure and Functions has been charged with looking at the Representation on Search Committees policy for more clarity regarding the possible change in hiring practices brought about by the GMC and it's donor funding.

The Senate's Student Affairs Committee (SAC) brought forward a resolution last Spring about housing for foster youth during holidays. In late November, the Senate received confirmation that foster youth will be granted housing during holidays A success for our foster youth and governance!

The Senate office follows higher education, educational technology and local news on its Twitter account. During the opening day of the new RP Casino, tweets about the traffic conditions were emailed to the faculty to promote safety and awareness. Using Google Analytics, we were able to see that 90 people checked out the Senate Twitter feed page that day! The Faculty Retreat was also live tweeted and two faculty members tweeted to the #SSUFacRT2014.

Faculty Center is up and running!

Check out the Faculty Center on the first floor of the Library. Outstanding professional development opportunities and academic technology assistance all in one place!

Excellence in Teaching Award comment period is open. Check your email for this year's nominees. A reception held in honor of last year's recipient, Dr. Brantley Bryant will be held in the Faculty Center on April 18th from 2:30 to 4:30.

The Senate celebrates its 50th anniversary on April 10th in the Sonoma Village room, 2nd floor of the Student Center! All faculty who have ever participated in governance at any level are encouraged to participate. More details to follow!